Arrr! See CONTENTS for links to the 125 chapters of The Monstaville Memoirs plus introductions, conclusions, postscripts and appendices. This treasure trove also includes a collection of articles offering further insights into the themes explored in the trilogy. Namely, managing suffering and conflict (dealing with hostile people if you are nervous, sensitive or shy) and learning not to react

Tommy
Webber: Go for the
mouth, then, the throat, his vulnerable spots!

Jason
Nesmith: It's a
rock! It doesn't have any vulnerable spots!

Guy
Fleegman (Sam
Rockwell): I know! You construct a weapon. Look around, can you form some sort
of rudimentary lathe?

[Dane gets annoyed and grabs the
communicator from him].

Alexander
Dane: Well, you’re
just going to have to figure out what it wants - what is its motivation.

Jason
Nesmith: It's a
rock monster. It doesn't have motivation.

Sir
Alexander Dane:
See, that's your problem, Jason. You were never serious about the craft.

-
From a scene in Galaxy Quest
(directed by Dean Parisot, 1999).

The
root cause of a conflict: Bullies in a nutshell.

Someone behaves selfishly, unaware -
or not caring - that they are having an injurious effect on others
psychologically by imposing their noise or desires and invading others’ space
or peace of mind, or taking resources on which they depend. They do not care
about anyone but themselves. Sooner or later, there is a reaction, whether
polite or aggressive. The selfish person will only respect the wishes of others
if they feel that there is no choice, if the other is, or seems to be, more
powerful and likely to win the conflict. Otherwise, he or she will carry on
doing what they want and may even do it more just to prove their point. They
may show that they can do whatever they like. ‘What are you going to do to stop
me?’ they ask. Selfish people bully whoever they can so they can get their own
way. They impose themselves on those who are in a weaker position then they are
physically or materially. They have predatory instincts and behave like animals
in the jungle, wild cats, which prey on weaker creatures they can bring down,
kill and eat.

In England, there are always some
people like this in our midst (‘they know who they are’- and they’re unlikely
to be reading this book). We have such mixed blood. There are whole families,
whole areas, like it. We avoid them if we can but trouble cannot always be
avoided. There are even whole nations that are ruled by selfish and aggressive
regimes and cultural groups and in which those who gravitate to such attitudes
freely inflict them on society. But, there are also countries where people are
more peace-loving than in Britain,
who do not have to put up with dangerous individuals because benevolent
qualities are promoted and rewarded. They are so few and far between that they
are easily dealt with. India,
for all its failings, is perhaps such a nation, for example.

How far a selfish person tries to
push things determines the outcome. They are always testing and always
projecting their selfishness on to others, pinning the blame on them. They push
a bit more, and a bit more. Any reaction justifies a ‘retaliation’ and
‘provoked attack’ because the selfish person is in denial of their own
aggression. They believe they are behaving well because they are good and
everyone else is bad. They never see others as they really are. They either see
others as obstacles or victims because they just want. They are undisciplined
and want to get their own way without restraint or respect for anyone else.
They are so wrapped up in themselves that they give you the grief you don’t
need and they take the peace of mind, space and resources you do need.

"Power
is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear
of punishment and the other by acts of love.
Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the
one derived from fear of punishment." - Gandhi.

Usually, if you are able to stand up
for yourself sufficiently and show that you will not be intimidated the bully
will either back down and look for someone else to use and abuse or there might
be a confrontation or continued aggravation as they attempt to prove to
themselves that they have not lost and will get what they want. They may
continue the pressure in order to test you to see if you are up to the challenge,
perhaps in a different capacity. They look for your weaknesses and may, if they
are persistent or want something from you badly enough, try attacking you from
other angles. Sometimes, repeatedly showing your intention not to be
intimidated is sufficient. There is then always that factor of uncertainty that
makes a person wonder what you might be
capable of, or what you intend to do about the situation. These people are
fighting with the world, fighting with you and fighting, ultimately, with
themselves. They do not think about the future or the consequences of their
actions. You might spend the rest of your life working towards getting even.
That means nothing to them. As clever as they might well be, they do not have
much awareness. They are, by definition, narrow-minded, barbaric people.

If a bully sees that you have
friends, especially friends who could support and defend you, they are likely
to stop harassing you. This is an ideal measure to take against aggressors.
They like to go round in groups and pick fights with people who have no way of
winning. They thrive on the power of numbers. Often, though, they do not have
that many friends because no one genuinely likes them (perhaps, like Pigsy,
they just used or bought friends and have none left). They hang around with
people who are similar to them.

Over time, the aggressor and their
prey get to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The former is always
fighting and competing, trying to demonstrate their power and impose their will
on the latter. When you think you have succeeded and ‘all is quiet on the
Western Front,’ you can guarantee that trouble will start up again unless you
have overcome the aggressor once and for all with a demonstration of power that
puts them off trying it on. The reason for this is that such people do not change
- they are naturally selfish and always want to get their own way. In fact,
change is what they most fear because there is so much that requires changing
within themselves in order to find lasting contentment without depending on
making others miserable. Since they do not see why they should restrain
themselves and resent any restriction from outside, they proudly demonstrate
their power and attack. They may harbour a grudge from an earlier time when you
managed to get them to back down. They ‘think,’ ‘I want to do this and nothing
is going to stop me.’ So, they do it whether you like it or not, and they may
deliberately go over the top to see what your reaction is, again, to assure
themselves of your weak defence or passive acceptance.

"Take
into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk." -
Dalai Lama.

You do not want to allow yourself to
be dragged down into the gutter but, equally, you may find it difficult to
remain positive or they walk all over you and make your life a misery. Unless
you can get away from them completely, having to move, for example, you must
gradually become stronger and keep trying to deal with the situation. You can
only do your best. If you have faith and a positive intention to master it or
endeavour to master yourself and centre yourself in the power of your inner
being - then you have succeeded in transforming negative energy into something
positive and you have changed yourself. It is then more than an endurance test.
It is an initiation from which, in the long-term, you will benefit. The
situation, the circumstances themselves, are only temporary. It is the way you
react, the way you think and behave, which determines what you will be in the
future.

You might be limited in the ways you
can afford to act but you are not limited at all in the ways you can grow and
learn from the situation. As long as you are expressing your higher nature,
whether partly or fully, what others do and where they are lacking is their
lookout. They succeed only in securing power temporarily whereas you achieve
permanent qualities of self-control, inner power, love, peace and joy that are
not dependent on external circumstances. These qualities may or may not be
disturbed by other people but they run deep enough for you to find at least
partial refuge. When ‘it’s all over,’ you will emerge victorious from your
ordeals and know deep and lasting peace and happiness.

“I believe our everyday experience
confirms that a self-centred attitude towards problems can be destructive not
only towards society, but to the individual as well. Selfishness does not solve
problems for us, it multiplies them. Accepting responsibility and maintaining
respect for others will leave all concerned at peace. This is the essence of
Mahayana Buddhism.” - The Dalai Lama (“Mayahana is to bring nirvana back into
the world as a Bodhisattva,” as Alan Watts noted).

"It is one of the most beautiful
compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another
without helping himself." - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

“There is only one way of not hating
those who do us wrong, and that is by doing them good.” - Henri Frederick
Amiel.

“I believe all suffering is caused
by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their
happiness or satisfaction. Yet, true happiness comes from a sense of peace and
contentment, which in turn must be achieved through the cultivation of altruism,
of love and compassion, and elimination of ignorance, selfishness, and greed.”
- The Dalai Lama.

“Compassion is not religious
business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own
peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival.” - The Dalai
Lama.

Before I
can end my self-sabotage, I need to identify that’s what I’m doing. And, in
order to identify it, I need to know the characteristics. Now that I know the
characteristics, when I’m in a mess, when I’m in a jam, one of the first
questions I’m going to ask myself when I get up above water enough to breathe
is, ‘Is this a traditional method of failure or is it sabotage? [By being] able
to answer that question, I, all of a sudden, have at least the stick of wood to
hang onto in my drowning situation. I’ve got some lifeline here where I can
hold myself above water enough to figure out what to do next.

[There are seven
conditions that create an environment that encourages self-sabotage, according
to Lazaris: symbiotic guilt (for example, people are starving in Africa
therefore I must eat all of my food and make myself sick), not knowing how you
succeeded, secrets, shame, unforgivability, undeservability and flirting with
your negative ego fantasy (for example, if you are intelligent you might
fantasise about insanity instead)].

[Playing
around with your negative ego fantasy to see how dangerously close to the edge
you can get is a way to feel. We fear both anger and love, says Lazaris].

And the
scariest thing on your planet is intimacy – because, indeed, your relationship
with God/Goddess/All That is would be direct except for all this barrage of
illusion you throw up in between…See, you’re used to adversity. You’re used to
difficulties. You’ve learned to grow up with them. You go to school to learn
how to handle them. Intimacy is the thing you want the most and the thing that
scares you the most. Feeling scares you; feeling love. ‘Oh, I can feel romance.
I can feel titillation. I can feel the juices flowing as hormonal responses to
people.’ But love scares you…

“…there are people out there who
are terrified of feeling. But you must feel. See, you create this space. And
you’re going to feel love or going to feel pain. You’re going to feel. And as
you feel love you feel pain. As you refuse love you feel pain. And some people,
in that way, will, they go so far as to be so, so messed up, that they
literally will hurt themselves, literally cut themselves, literally create
physical pain because at least it’s a feeling. Some people will therefore
literally destroy their lives, walk right in, eyes wide open-because, even
though it’s devastating, at least they’re feeling.

And we would suggest here that
flirting with your negative ego’s fantasy of self-destruction is a way, sadly,
some people, the only way that they have, of feeling anything. They never feel
good. They never feel excited. The only thing they feel is fear and fear is
what turns them on. They’re, they’re masochists, seeking a sadist. And the
negative ego fantasy is the flirtation and that
induces self-sabotage.

“Every human being feels pleasure in
doing good to another.” - Thomas Jefferson.

“You are the creator of your own experience whether you know
that you are or not. Your life experience is unfolding in precise response to
the vibrations that radiate as a result of your thoughts – whether you know
that it is or not.” –
Abraham (Manifest Your Desires by
Esther and Jerry Hicks, Hay House, Inc., Carlsbad, CA., U.S., 2008, p.206).

"The
heart is the key, it is the doorway to your freedom. Service to others is your
relief from suffering. In serving others, you serve self and in that, joy is
born." - St. Germain (channelled through Ashamarae McNamara, www.awakeningfromwithin.com).

“You have
been on a roller-coaster ride - long, slow, painful climbs to heights from
which glimpses of a marvellous future could be briefly viewed, followed by a
very rapid descent back into the grime of the illusory world. The end of this
ride, however, is at the top, not at the bottom, and you are on the last stages
of the final ascent.” - Saul (channelled through John Smallman, ‘Your high
hopes and expectations are completely justified,’ 11 November 2012,www.johnsmallman.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/your-high-hopes-and-expectations-are-completely-justified).

Announcer: We
interrupt with a special announcement: An hour ago a dangerous creature broke
out of the city zoo. When last seen, the monster was heading for the
Greenbrier-Woodlawn area.

Osho: First, Religion is a complicated joke. If you don't laugh at all
you have missed the point; if you only laugh you have missed the point again.
It is a very complicated joke. And the whole of life is a great cosmic joke. It
is not a serious phenomenon - take it seriously and you will go on missing it.
It is understood only through laughter.

Have you not observed that man is
the only animal who laughs? Aristotle says man is the rational animal. That may
not be true - because ants are very rational and bees are very rational. In
fact, compared to ants, man looks almost irrational. And a computer is very
rational - compared to a computer, man is very irrational.

My definition of man is that man is
the laughing animal. No computer laughs, no ant laughs, no bee laughs. If you
come across a dog laughing you will be so scared! Or a buffalo suddenly laughs:
you may have a heart attack. It is only man who can laugh, it is the highest
peak of growth.

And it is through laughter that you
will reach to God - because it is only through the highest that is in you that
you can reach the ultimate. Laughter has to become the bridge. Laugh your way
to God. I don't say pray your way to God, I say laugh your way to God. If you
can laugh you will be able to love. If you can laugh you will be able to relax.
Laughter relaxes like nothing else. So all jokes to me are prayers - that's why
I tell them.

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Did you know that this is the 12th and lowest universe in our multiverse and that it is founded on the energies of fear and suffering which were not resolved in the 11th?

Karma & Emotions

This e-book explores the opportunity for releasing deep emotional blockages from the past that crisis presents and the notion that this process of self-healing is an essential aspect of spiritual ascension (click the picture for more info & free pdf download)

What is, is; how we react is up to us!

"Life is 10 percent of what you make it and 90 percent of how you take it." - Irving Berlin.

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Visit my website: Antraeus.com

About Me

Born on 25 November 1965 and currently living in Yorkshire, England. I write songs and books and have a website that serves as a platform for my work as well as being an Ascension resource. The Treasure Chest displays all chapters of The Monstaville Memoirs trilogy as well as further insights from various sources relating to the themes of these books. The Powerlessness of Now reveals the many ways in which we have given our power away to the Establishment through its web of control.

“Someone asked, ‘Why is there suffering?’ [Meher] Baba gave this succinct reply: ‘Suffering is essential for the elimination of the ego, just as it was necessary for you to scrub and scrub in order to wash the stain from my coat.’" - Unkown.

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“Strong souls aren't just born. They are built by forging through the most challenging perils in life and still having the ability to shine.“ – Anon.

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“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”- Joseph Campbell.